GEOS 242 Notes:
Started development at UW
Learning Goals
Lots of chances for revisions
Present the class in a way that it puts the responsibility of learning in their hands.
Emphasize that students can re-write assignments as many times as they’d like, as long as they mind the deadlines.
Peer Review: Emphasize the importance of peer review early and often.
Listen to the students. Be flexible and willing to change the syllabus throughout the term.
Share anecdotes of experiences you’ve had when communicating in the past.
Remind students that this class is an early step toward their ability to effectively communicate scientific information, but that they will continue to improve their communication skills throughout their academic and professional careers.
Graduate Students:
More opportunities to improve their writing from the beginning of their experience at BSU through to the end == more feedback on writing along the way.
Students generally come in with poor writing skills.
Biggest problems are:
1) writing like they speak
2) Passive vs active voice
3) overly wordy phrases
e.g., The unit is 2 m thick and comprised of a poorly-sorted massive lapilli tuff with negligible grading.
e.g., From the road we saw that the unit is 2 m thick. We found out that the unit is comprised of a poorly-sorted and is a massive lapilli tuff. It is important to note the lack of obvious grading.
Elevator pitch = 20 to 30 seconds
An elevator pitch is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds).
I use them:
When I meet people
When I visit another school
When asked to introduce myself
When run into a program officer
When run into a university higher up
When introduce myself to a new colleague
Over coffee, lunch
…
Have you ever had occasion that would be good for an elevator pitch?
Pick an audience (this class, prospective employer you run into at a conference).
Brainstorm. Practice. What message do you want to convey?
Grading Rubric (elevator pitch):
Student Name:______
Selected Audience: ______
2 points / 1 points / 0 point / NotesTime: / 20-40 seconds / 10-20 seconds or
40-60 seconds / <10 seconds or >60 seconds
Name Introduction / Stated full name with confidence / Stated only first name or full name with no confidence / Did not state name
Stated Interest / Clearly stated interest / Stated interested but used a lot of filler words (you know, like, um) / Did not state interest
Question / Asked a question that would elicit a response and probably a conversation / Asked a question that would elicit a response, but probably not a conversation / Did not ask a question
Elevator pitch was appropriate for the selected audience / Tone was appropriate / Tone was mostly appropriate / Tone was not appropriate (too informal, too formal)